Interview on Canadian Broadcasting’s DNTO

Tomorrow, you can listen to me on DNTO — Definitely Not The Opera — hosted by Sook-Yin Lee on CBC. We’re talking about letter writing as part of a larger show focusing on the question, “What was the letter that changed your life?” Here’s the description of the episode and the people that Sook-Yin talks to about that question.

In this age of fancy-pants “electronic” mail, we often forget about the power of a good old fashioned letter. So what letter changed your life?

We regret to inform you… From breakups to getting turned down for a job, everyone’s had the “rejection letter” at one point. Bill Shapiro talks about some famous examples – and the upside of the “thanks but no thanks” letter.

Rose Simpson didn’t really know her dad – until she found the letters he wrote to her mom. She’ll tell us how the letters changed everything she thought she knew.

One of the most famous mail bags on TV belongs to David Letterman. Grant Lawrence will tell us what happened when his fan letter was pulled out of that bag… and how it changed high school for him.

Love ’em or lose ’em? What do you do with your old love letters? Sook-Yin takes to the street for your stories.

Imagine finding a random love letter on the street – just for you (whoever you may be). That’s the kind of surpriseLindsay Zier-Vogel set out to create with her Love Lettering Project. Sook-Yin will join her to distribute some letters for unsuspecting strangers.

“Day 5 of camp is a lot better. The rash on my penis is gone, and now I can run. My friends hate when I say eggs so I’m trying to stop saying it. Love, Josh.” As a parent, getting a letter from your kid at camp can be a bit alarming.Diane Falanga, author of P.S. I Hate It Here: Kids’ Letters From Camp shares some classic camp letters, and offers advice on how to respond to them.

Fred Sasakamoose – the first status Aboriginal professional hockey player – will tell us how two lines in a telegram changed his life forever – and made him part of history. (You can hear more of Fred’s story at theTrailbreakers website.)

Do you miss the connection the good old-fashioned letter brings? Author Mary Robinette Kowal did – and she decided to do something about it. We’ll find out what happened when she gave up her e-mail for a month… and kicked-off a letter writing phenomenon.

Sook-Yin tells us the story of her very first love letter.

People don’t write letters as often as they used to. But for those who immigrated to Canada, they were often a lifeline to the “old country.” And that powerful link is what Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson explores in a particular song on his latest solo album, Provincial. He’ll tell us the story behind the song.

When psychologist Sandra Sanger was handed a box filled with old suicide letters, she knew they’d be fascinating to study. What she didn’t expect was the sense of responsibility that would come with them. We’ll talk to the keeper of the suicide letters.

The show will air on Saturday afternoon at 1:30pm on CBC Radio One and on Sirius 159 Saturdays at 11:30am & 9:30pm ET. If you’re in Seattle they’re on KXOT Saturdays mornings from 9-11.

They have a whole plethora of listening options

If you’re not near a radio or want to time-shift the program it live streams in each time zone here: http://www.cbc.ca/listen/